House Speaker Newt Gingrich is the single greatest threat to needed reform
of environmental laws, announced the conservative National Center for Public
Policy Research on June 24. The Speaker's efforts to stymie meaningful reform
of the Endangered Species Act, his support for legislation that would threaten
private property and subvert efforts to base legislation on sound science, and
his efforts to give the environmental establishment veto power over all
environmental legislation mean the Speaker should be the poster boy of the
environmental movement -- not its villain -- says the group.

In recent months, environmental groups have been attempting to use the
Speaker's waning popularity to sink regulatory relief efforts. But Newt
Gingrich and the environmental movement are like two peas in a pod. In fact,
says the group, Newt Gingrich has staked out environmental positions that are
so radical that some of the staunchest environmentalists appear moderate by
comparison. For example, Gingrich recently blocked changes to a dolphin
protection measure that had been given the green light not only by
environmental establishment Republicans like Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD), but by
environmental groups like Greenpeace. In May he also urged Senate Majority
Leader Robert Dole (R-KS) to abandon eforts to pass property rights legislation
-- a measure supported by over two-thirds of the electorate.

"Given the Speaker's apparent contempt for private property rights,
his penchant for 'junk science' and his indifference to the plight of Americans
suffering under unreasonable regulations, he ought to be the environmental
movement's poster boy -- not its villain," said David Ridenour, Vice
President of The National Center for Public Policy Research. Ironically,
at the very time Speaker Gingrich has been villified by the environmental
movement, he's been working to ensure that they have greater say in the
nation's policies. Recently, Gingrich established a House Task Force on the
Environment designed to give environmentalists veto power over all
environmental legislation. Gingrich appointed Representative Sherwood Boehlert
(R-NY) to co-chair the Task Force, one of the House of Representatives' most
rabid environmentalists -- Democrat or Republican. Boehlert received a 92%
score in the League of Conservation Voters' environmental scorecard -- higher
than 53% of House Democrats.

For informational materials/interviews contact David Ridenour at The
National Center for Public Policy Research at (202) 543-4110.